Apple and Samsung Fail to Reach a Settlement Ahead of their Patent Trial

In a courtroom document that was recently filed to the District Court for the Northern District of California, Apple and Samsung reported mediation talks had failed. The document noted that both parties are willing to continue discussions ahead of a patent trial scheduled to begin at the end of March. According to the filing the parties sent high-level executives to a “full-day negotiation session” during the first week of February but failed to reach an agreement over what will be the companies’ second high-profile patent trial in California.

For those of you who don’t know, Apple and Samsung agreed to settlement talks at the behest of presiding Judge Lucy Koh. In attendance for Apple were CEO Tim Cook, SVP and General Counsel Bruce Sewell, VP and Chief Litigation Counsel Noreen Krall and VP and Chief IP Counsel BJ Watrous. Samsung sent CEO of IT and Mobile Communications JK Shin, Head of IP Dr. Seung-Ho Ahn, VP and Head of U.S. IP Ken Korea, Executive VP and CFO of Mobile Communications HK Park, SVP and Head of Licensing Injung Lee and VP and Head of Licensing for Mobile Communications James Kwak.

The filing noted that representatives from both sides had spoken with a neutral mediator multiple times since the initial session in a bid to advance settlement efforts. Apple is reported to have held teleconference calls more than six times, while Samsung made similar efforts more than four times. Both Apple and Samsung held identical last-minute settlement negotiations before the first Apple vs. Samsung jury trial in 2012. The outcome was similar that of the recent discussions.

Although an amicable settlement couldn’t be reached, the parties remain willing to continue talks through the mediator as a second two-way California patent trial approaches. Apple is asserting patents against ten Samsung products while the South Korean tech giant is asserting four claims against ten Apple products.

The proceedings are set to begin on March 31. We’ll have to wait and see what happens between the two going forward.